Even without $1.2 trillion in "sequestration" cuts that could begin Jan. 2, the enormous U.S. military budget – which has consistently made up almost half of the country’s annual discretionary spending – is entering a period of austerity unseen in more than a decade.Since late 2011, defense contractors big and small have been planning for the previously announced reduction in defense spending of $487 billion over 10 years.
But they could lose an additional $492 billion under sequestration, the automatic spending cuts that kick in on Jan. 2 if lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the White House fail to reconcile their differences.
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